Highlanders hope to 'regroup quickly'

Highlanders coach Glenn Moore, having lost star wing Lucky Mulipola with a fractured arm his team's 16-22 defeat to an inspired Reds team in Brisbane on Friday, says they will have to regroup quickly.

Highlanders coach Glenn Moore, having lost star wing Lucky Mulipola with a fractured arm his team's 16-22 defeat to an inspired Reds team in Brisbane on Friday, says they will have to regroup quickly.

The Highlanders, written off as no-hopers before the tournament, have a tough Round Two assignment against the two-time Super Rugby champion Brumbies in Canberra next Saturday.

Moore admitted it will be a “big week” for his team, who will stay on in Brisbane to conclude their preparations before taking on the Brumbies.

“I'm positive the guys will regroup quickly,” Moore said, adding that they have already discussed the encounter with the Brumbies.

“Obviously they were really disappointed in the way things went [in the loss to the Reds], but we'll regroup and get on with our work.”

Moore, obviously disappointed at having lost Mulipola for six weeks or more after he fractured his arm against the Reds, said he can take a number of positives out of the Brisbane encounter.

The Highlanders appeared to get the wrong end of a number of decisions at the Suncorp Stadium.

Two of the three Reds tries were inconclusive TMO rulings that referee Marius Jonker appeared to have made his mind up on before referring to the TV replay official.

The Highlanders also suffered a dubious second-half yellow card to prop Jamie Mackintosh that came at a crucial time, and missed out on the rub of the green when Jonker and both of his assistants failed to spot a clear punch thrown by Reds flank Hugh McMenamin.

“We've got a young squad and we've picked a group of guys who we think will fight all the time, and they certainly did that,” Moore said.

“We got ourselves back into the game, and a couple of calls didn't go our way, but you certainly can't fault the effort.”

Moore felt there was enough to be enthusiastic about ahead of the game against the Brumbies.

“There was plenty of fight there, and we stuck in there and fought really hard to the end,” he said.

“We could clearly say we created opportunities and built a bit of pressure, but what we've got to work on now is polishing that to convert those into points.”